The Significance of Numbers
by LuminousFishy
Summary: What if there was a countdown to when you met your soul mate? What if yours didn't work? Clary Fray never thought she'd meet her soul mate, but when a series of dramatic events lead to her being a fugitive, maybe she might just have a chance.
1. Wahh Forever Alone

**Hey! So, new story! Yeah...commitment is a scary thing. So, this idea came from a Tumblr post about the countdown to your soul mate, this beginning is not my own more rather an edit of some other genius' work. There is also a film called Timer that has this idea, but I think it's awesome. **

**Copyright: Sorry, whoever did that Tumblr post and Cassandra Claire for the characters**

* * *

I suffer Isabelle's excitable babbling in silence, her gorgeous face is bubbling with excitement. Exactly 2 minutes left, she tells me. We're standing at the bus stop and the bus is coming in two minutes. I think she hoped she'd meet them on a beach at sunset or something.

"I mean that's ok - these things can't always be romantic I mean my mum met dad when he was working at the book store and it's not like you can plan it to be romantic I just hoped, I mean everyone hopes don't they-" she breaks off, looking at me awkwardly. "Sorry. It's just a big day for me you know."

Yes I do know. You've only been going on about it for the past year. Instead of verbalising my thoughts, I smile at her.  
"Don't worry. You'll be ok, you always are," I grin, determined not to ruin this for her. It's selfish of me to be moody. This is her future being determined. Right here. In precisely 1 minute and 30 seconds.

She smiles at me, but it isn't quite reaching her eyes. She's restless and keeps tapping her foot. Her eyes are wide with…fear? Excitement? Nerves? Probably all of them and a thousand more things I can't imagine. She keeps checking her wrist. So do I. The bus comes around the corner.

1 minute 10 seconds.

"Hey. I'll leave you alone now ok? The bus is here. I'll sit a couple of seats away, and be there if you need me," I say, squeezing her arm reassuringly. "Good luck." I hope it sounded sincere.

The bus pulls up and I climb on first, taking a quick glance at her while I give the driver my ticket. She looks like she's trying to hide all her feelings, I sense that she's very nervous, although Izzy would never admit it. I want to give her a hug but know I shouldn't interrupt now. I look at the passengers and it's full of pensioners. My heart starts beating frantically. What? I can't see anyone else at the bus stop. But she's only 18, she can't end up with a 80 year old! I turn around and look at her - she's breathing hard. The bus driver asks if she's ok but she ignores him. Her eyebrows are creased and her face is flushed. Oh. Oh no. Stay calm. Someone is probably late. I give her a thumbs up and try to smile reassuringly. I think it's more of a grimace.

I take a seat near the back. Look at my watch. 25 seconds. She sits down a few seats away.

Suddenly a dark shape runs past my window and a boy jumps on the bus. He has that same frantic look in his eyes. I breathe out with relief.

"Yeah get on, we're running late," the driver says, taking his ticket. The boy looks around, carefully stepping towards the seats. He's tall and handsome, holding a comic book and wearing an darthvader t-shirt. I smile slightly; my friend hates star wars.

4 seconds

He spots her.

3 seconds

His eyes widen as he walks closer, as if being pulled by an invisible rope.

2 seconds

My friend stands up too, that same rope tying her to him.

1 second

"I was worried the bus would leave. No way could I miss meeting my soul mate!" he jokes, though he looks just as nervous as she. They smile at each other as they both sit down together. I can't hear what they're talking about.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Suddenly I'm crying. Hot tears dropping down my cheeks.

I look at my wrist, scratching at it. Trying to get rid of it.

The numbers have never changed.

They've always been at 0.


	2. City Invasion!

**Hallo, welcome to JM0613, guest, ChristinaCSandu, Fearless Noodle (awesome name) and of course Mrs. Jace Wayland-Herondale (you're always awesome). Thanks for following etc.! **

"And then we went to the park and it was like really awesome and, he's like so romantic and geeky and adorable and like…"

Two weeks later and they've already been on billions of dates. As you can she, she's infatuated by him and he, Simon, nearly drools every time she turns his way. I try to be encouraging. I try to smile and look nonchalant when they have their romantic moments, but every single moment rips my heart into pieces. I can't help but feel sorry for myself. I have no numbers, no job, no prospect, well at least that's what _they _say. We live in Salt Lake City, Utah. America has been overruled by Valentine Morgenstern, originally from Idris, his influence spread out across the globe after his successful uprising. We are forced to learn about all his achievements in History. If you ask me, I hate the guy and the circle, but of course, no one wants to hear my opinion. I'm a nobody, a 0.00. Unclassifiable, uncontrollable and unwanted. Everything about us is controlled. They attach all our information to a wrist band we are forced to wear until we die.

Izzy's one used to say:

Occupation: Fashion Designer

Days till Soul Mate Meeting: 60 days 5hrs 50min (Or now it just says Simon Lewis)

Allocated housing: 102a Redwood

Family: Unknown, currently in the care system

Date of birth: Unknown, found by government officials, suspected age 18

Criminal Record: Clear

No-one knows Izzy's family, but I don't think that's too important, I don't know my dad either. Of course, when we look at my results, she can count herself lucky.

Occupation: Unemployable

Days till Soul mate meeting: 0.00

Allocated housing: On waiting list (currently residing at 104a Blackthorn)

Family: Mother Jocelyn Fray, deceased father Jonathon Clark

Date Of birth: 21st August 1997

Criminal Record: Unknown

The only information they know about me was supplied by my mother, everything should automatically be on there, but for me it didn't work. You see, anyone who takes a second glance at those will run away as fast as possible. It makes me different and in many ways dangerous. I'm harder to control and have disruptive data. My mum is doing her best to find me a job and with that, a life, but no-one will take on (what they call) an Unknown. If some data is missing, I must have altered it and if I've altered it I'm trouble and if I'm trouble….

"Clary, are you even listening to me?" Isabelle's voice penetrates my thoughts.

"Oh sorry, erm yeah?"

"Okay, then tell me, what did Simon buy me last night?"

"Erm…a….errr"

"So, you weren't listening?"

"Sorry…"

She just rolls her eyes.

"Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself"

"At least Simon listens"  
"Yeah, well he's my soul mate, he has to"

I just roll my eyes.

"Izzy!" Simon yells from across the park we've been walking in. I should've known he'd meet us here.

"Simon!" She greets the now puffed out dork who's just wasted two seconds of his life running over to us.

"Hey Clary"  
"Hi"

He points to the comic poking out of my bag "Full Metal Alchemist?"

"Yep, it's my favourite"

"What part are you at?"

"The really depressing part"  
"The dog and the professors daughter?"

"Yep, that's the one!"

"For goodness sake, it's like a geek fest in here. Are you sure we got the right soul mates?" Izzy interrupts us

We both roll our eyes.

"Just because I can appreciate some of your soul mate's hobbies" I point out

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing, come on lets get coffee" I say, a bit more sharply then I had intended. I lead the couple into Java Jones.

"I'll pay, what do you guys want?" The ever gallant Simon volunteers.

"Coffee. Black like my soul" I say, plunking myself down on the sofa.

"…Cappuccino please Simon" Izzy asks, giving him a quick peck. I try not to look too disgusted, I don't think I did a very good job. I frown and open a sugar sachet, spilling it onto the table and absentmindedly draw patterns with my finger. I ignore the others when they come and join me.

"Hey, isn't that the symbol of the Shadowhunters?" Izzy asks. I glance down to see I'd drawn the weird diamond thing that decorates their uniform. The lucky few people who are Shadowhunters become the government's right hand men. The Clave, they call all of them. The Clave are basically our police force, stamping out any sign of resistance and supposedly killing demons to protect us. I've never seen a demon or an angel, so I see no reason to believe them.

"They call it the angel rune" Simon speaks up, handing me a coffee.

"Oh" I say, wiping away the symbol. I glance up to see Izzy giving him a look.  
"What? I listened in class!" Simon protests.

"Those lessons were pointless. If we're mundane and die whenever we draw runes, then why should we bother to learn them?" Izzy questions.

Simon shrugs. "It was interesting" He reasons. I missed most of my classes and didn't bother to learn any of it.

A loud helicopter noise can be heard overheard and we all look at each other in confusion. We've never heard a helicopter sound that close, in fact we barely ever hear them in the first place. The deep rumbling of many approaching vehicles can also be heard. My phone starts ringing and I answer it on the fifth call.

"Clary? Clary?" My mother's frantic voice sounds through the phone.

"Yes? What's going on?"

"It's Valentine, he knows we're here!"

"Valentine? Of course he knows we're here, he knows where everyone is! What does this have to do with _him_?"

"Clary, just listen. There's no time to explain. Is Isabelle with you?"

"Yes"

"Go. Take Isabelle with you and run for your lives. Don't wait for me, they're taking the city."  
"Mum?"

"GO!" I hear her last yell and then the line goes dead. I look at the others who have wide eyes.

"We need to leave"

"What? Why? Where to?" They both start questioning.

"I don't know" I respond, grabbing my jacket and striding out the shop. The streets are chaos, people are being rounded up by the Clave everywhere. Everyone seems to be going in the direction of the town square, so of course, I head in the opposite direction.

"Clary!" The others call, fumbling to keep up with me. A broken up voice sounds out among speakers set up around the town.

"_Calm down this is just a routine check up, we require all citizens to assemble in the town square. You have nothing to fear….unless you have something to hide_" I recognise it vaguely, but it is as if I've dreamt up the voice or it is a character in a book.

"Clary! What are you doing? We need to go to the others!" Izzy says, catching up with me.

"No we really don't."

I continue down the empty street, hoping to get back to the apartment or something. A man steps out of the shadows in front of us and brings his harpoon up to my chest.

"Move or I kill you" He says, gesturing back the way we came. We have no choice but to move keep moving in front of him.

"See, if you had just listened to me we wouldn't be in this situation" Izzy says, clearly annoyed. I scowl and keep moving forward. We reach the courtyard where countless rows of people, well all the town, are gathered in rows. They look as if they are being tested for something. A scary white haired dude that I recognise as Valentine's son from the TV is overlooking the whole process. One of the monitors makes a beeping noise and I stop moving as he is seized by some Shadow hunters and dragged forward. I stop walking and the man behind me jabs the sharp harpoon into my back.

"Keep walking" He says.

I'm forced to wait and stand in a queue. I nervously fidget and try to look anywhere but at the front of the queue which is coming closer and closer. People either side are frantically looking for their partners, trying to find where they went. I glance around and accidently make eye contact with white haired dude. His gaze seems to pierce right through my soul, making me feel exposed. I suddenly start panicking as I remember that my inconclusive results will probably end up with my arrest. I look away and see him smirk out of the corner of my eye, his gaze doesn't leave me until I'm at the front of the queue.

The Shadowhunter at the end grabs my arm and scans my wrist band. Their eyebrows raise as they read my reacts. They turn and say something to one of their friends who drags me away from the queue and brandishes a stele. My heart thumps almost painfully fast inside my chest.

"You can't do that! I'll die!" I protest.

"We'll see about that" The person drags the stele onto my skin and I instantly recognise the angelic rune. I bear the pain of the sting, more terrified of the side effects. When nothing happens I look to the person in confusion.

"JONATHON!" They yell and quicker then I thought was possible, Jonathon Morgenstern is standing in front of me. I don't have time to respond before he grabs my wrist band and reads the information, his mouth twists into a smile that feels like someone has thrown a bucket of ice over me. He is about to say something when a massive explosion goes off and with an almighty crash, I'm thrown to the ground with the force. My knees scrape against the concrete and I bite my cheek to stifle my cries. Jonathon hauls me to my feet and passes me over roughly to another Shadowhunter.

He shouts orders to the guards and then leaves to try and control the panic that has ensued. I feel myself being dragged away by the arms and am thrown into the back of an open truck. I slam into the hard floor, but before the doors close I catch a glimpse of my companions to see that Isabelle is already there. With a slam, the doors are closed, shutting out all light as the truck rumbles to a start.


	3. And we walked and walked and walked

My eyes take a few minutes to adjust to the minimal light that is only provided by a crack in the truck's back doors. I can hear heavy breathing around me, I attempt to stand up, but as soon as I do I am flung back into another body, ending up in a tangle of limbs.

"Ow!" The unmistakable voice of Isabelle grunts from underneath me. I hug her blindly.

"Izzy!"  
"Dude, I would hug you back but my hands are tied" She responds. I glance around the barely visible back space of the lorry. There are two other people also tied up in here. I set about untying Izzy's bonds first, annoyingly breaking a few nails in the process. After what seems like forever I finally manage to loosen the knots and she triumphantly shrugs away the ropes.

"What are we doing here?" I wonder out loud.

"We're been taking to New York" A stranger's voice announces.

"What? Why?" I ask the guy on the opposite side of the truck.

"Well I don't know about you, but we've been arrested"

"Arrested!? Why!?"

"That's for us to know and you to find out"

"Okay…"

"But what about us? We haven't done anything wrong?" Izzy asks, exasperated.

"Oh come on, it's obvious" The other girl next to the guy announces.

"What's obvious!?"

"You're Shadowhunters! Surely you knew that already!"

"Shadowhunters? But we can't be!"

"Are you dead?"

"Well…no?"

"And they drew a rune on you? "

"Oh" I reply

"This is all so messed up! Simon is missing, we've been arrested!" Izzy cries.

"Simon! He wasn't taken?"

"Obviously not"

Izzy starts crying and I try to awkwardly comfort her.

"Well maybe he was caught up…or something. Anyway, he's probably safer back there…and you've only know each other a few weeks, it can't be that bad"

"Just because you're never going to find your soul mate, it doesn't mean that I can't be loved."  
"I didn't…"

"No you did. You've been moody ever since I met Simon, you don't understand. You _never _will" Her words sting.

"At least I tried"

The truck turns a corner and we are jumbled about. After the truck levels out again, Isabelle moves as far away from me as possible. I let her go and sit awkwardly, listening to her muffled sobs. Maybe I will never understand…it feels like horus have passed when suddenly I see a flash of something metal, it clunks around and then lands still at my feet. I pick it up. It looks like a stele.

"Hey, I hate to break this wonderful moment, but I would appreciate it if you untied us as well. That stele will be able to cut through these bonds easily" The guy speaks up.

"Oh yeah" I shuffle over and get to work on the guy's ropes. From the distance I can make out a lot more of his features. He is brown-skinned and looks like a rocker boy with long, dark hair that tumbles over his forehead and down his neck in curls. I also notice that he is muscular and on both arms he has tattoos that look like scrolling script winding around his skin.

"What are those?" I ask him, pointing to the tattoos.

"Mantras from the Upanishads"

"Oh okay" I finish with the knots and he throws the rope away.

"My name is Jordon by the way and this is Maia" He says, pointing to the girl to his left. Maia has light brown skin and dark brown eyes. Her brown-gold hair is messy but in distinct curls. They both look around my age, still only teenagers.

"I'm Clary and that's Isabelle" I point to my sobbing friend in the corner.

"Right" He says and I turn to Maia. After a while we are all free and we settle with our backs to the truck walls once more. The other two discuss some kind of escape plans for ages and I am just about to drift off to sleep when something stabs me in the side and I reach down to find the stele again. A pattern of simple swirling lines comes to mind and I instinctively start to draw it on the back doors of the truck. I sit back and admire the intricate design when it glows a bluesy colour and the metal of the door appears to melt.

"What the…?" Jordon gasps as a sizeable hole appears out of the door. The wind rushes in and light spews into the room. Izzy stops moping and crouches with us.

"What now?" She whispers.

"Now, we jump" Maia announces and without hesitation, she hurtles herself out of the truck. Jordon pauses a bit and then follows suit. Izzy glances at me with wide eyes, I shrug and prepare to follow them. She grabs my arm.  
"Are you crazy!? You're just going to jump out of a moving van?"

"Izzy, we don't have another option, if we stay here who knows what could happen?"

She bites her lip.

"I'll go first" she announces. She counts to three and then launches herself into the air. Her figure is slipping further away, so I take a deep breath and jump. For an instant I feel free and weightless, but then gravity pulls me down towards the ground. I curl into a ball and land painfully on my side, rolling along the road until I come to a stop. My left side feels like it's on fire. I stand up painfully slowly, my side is torn up and it looks like I have nasty graze along my hip. Other than that, I'm alive. I can make out the forms of the others across the hazy empty road that we're on; I wait patiently as they finally make their way towards me. Izzy looks slightly torn up, but relatively unscathed and the two strangers Maia and Jordon don't look battered or bruised at all. Their appearances also look a lot clearer in the light of day.

"So…that was crazy" Maia announces.

"Definitely" I confirm

"What now?" Izzy asks, none too kindly. I can tell she is deliberately avoiding my gaze.

"Well, I guess we walk" Jordon states, setting off on a stroll.

"Where? We can't just walk and anyway I'm wearing heels" Izzy complains, pointing to her outfit.

"Tough" Jordon announces, continuing to walk. I have no choice but to follow him, after all I have no idea where I am and no chance of survival by myself.

"Where are we?" I ask him, looking at the vast expanses of dryish grass either side.

"My guess is Nebraska. That seems to be the right amount of distance we travelled, can you believe we were on that truck for seven hours?"

"Yes I can" I answer, my butt still feeling numb from sitting down for so long.

Me and Jordon make pointless small talk to pass the time, whilst Izzy stumbles behind Maia, her heels clicking noisily as she walks. The wind blows and I suddenly wish I was wearing more than slightly torn up flannel shirt and jeans. It was much hotter in Utah… My spirits dampen as I grow hungry and tired from walking. Izzy stumbles and falls to her feet.

"Guys, stop. I can't walk" She whines.

"Then take off the heels" I say matter of factly. She shoots me a death glare, but slips them off anyway. The sky darkens.

"We need somewhere to stay for the night" I state.

"There's an old abandoned town called Sidney a mile away, we can make it before sun down" Jordon says, like he does this every day.

"How do you know so much?"

"We're fugitives, it's what we do" He says wrapping his arms around Maia, urgh great another happy couple.

"Why? Why can't you just stay in the city?"

He chuckles.

"Some Shadowhunter you are!...We're werewolves"

"Werewolves!?" Isabelle yells.

"I thought that all Downworlders were extinct?" I ask, confused.

"That's what we want you to think"

She turns and has a private conversation with Jordon. He nods and shares it with us.

"We may as well tell you, seeing as it looks like we're stuck together. We're from a rebel group called The Praetor Lupus. We can't stay in a town or place more than once or we get caught. I was in Salt Lake City on business with Magnus Bane, when the town was invaded, leading to our unfortunate arrest. We know America like the backs of our hands"

He starts walking again, my feet protest but I force myself to carry on.

"Magnus Bane…I recognize the name. I think he was one of my mum's friends" A sharp sting goes through my heart when I talk about her. I don't know where she is.

"What business does your mum have with a high warlock?" he asks.

"I don't know."

"You didn't know you were a Shadowhunter did you?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, my guess is that she is part of the rebel Shadowhunter group, the people who are opposed to Valentine's reign. I can take you to a group of them if you want"

"I don't know what I want anymore" I say truthfully. He just nods and we continue in silence. The landscape soon changes to the wreckage of old houses.

"We can stay here the night" He announces, which is just as well, considering it's now dark. He leads us into the nearby rubble of a house, he sends the other two off to gather what they can, mattresses, food etc.

"So, Clary. Is it possible you can draw more of your magical runes"

"I guess…" Some patterns come to mind "Which ones?"

"Protection, shield….anything to protect us form any wandering demons"

"Demons!? They still exist!"

"Clary, you've been living in a very protective bubble all your life. All the stories are true"

"Oh" I sigh and draw all the necessary runes that I can think of around the area that we me and Jordon later decide to start up a fire in. The other two arrive with a few tin cans of food, some blankets and a couple of mattresses to sleep on. Maia hands me a blanket and a can of food one and settles down on a mattress next to Jordon. I'm about to join them on my own mattress when a shout can be heard from nearby. We go still in silence.

"Help!" The unmistakably voice of a certain dork yells. Izzy scrambles up and immediately rushes towards the direction. Jordon curses and turns into a wolf, Maia follows closely behind. My breathing speeds up as I charge out of the rumble. Izzy is pointlessly throwing rocks at a grotesque demon that has pinned down Simon. The wolves pounce on top of the demon, which shrieks and lets Simon go. Simon scrambles over to Izzy, looking relatively unscathed. Maia and Jordon are still fighting off the demon and I feel so powerless. Suddenly I remember my pocketed stele and confidently I draw a rune on my hand. I ran towards them as light bursts out from it and the demon begins to fold in on itself. The atmosphere turns eerily quiet.

"What on earth was that?" Simon breathes from behind me.

"A rune"

"Rune? Like Shadowhunters?"

"Oh yeah, we're Shadowhunters now" Izzy announces, pulling Simon in for a sloppy make out session. I turn away. Sometime later, we're all settled back at our camp. Apparently Simon had stolen a truck after he saw Izzy being taken away; he got away with it because everyone was distracted by the explosions that had been set off around the city. He was jumped on by a demon, conveniently close to camp. I blame the soul mate palaver.

Everyone is now settled down in couples on their own mattresses and I can't help but feel terribly alone as I curl up and let my tears fall silently. I have my back facing away from the others, I don't won't them to see how much the past days events have effected me. I will stay strong…but once again I find myself glaring at the band on my wrist, begging the numbers to change. Of course, the do not and deep down I know that they never will.


	4. A Train? A moving train?

**Howdy! Sorry for the hiatus, I've been busy with a German Exchange student! As you may have noticed I changed the name, sorry for any inconvenience caused!**

I'm falling? The cold air rushes past me and I slam into something hard. I snap open my eyes, both confused and disorientated.

"GET DOWN!" A shout pierces through the air.

"What?" I ask, both confused and disorientated. Someone grabs me by the arm and drags me behind a piece of rubble. I blink in newly waken confusion, my eyes sharpen and my head fuzziness clears. Izzy is sitting across from me looking terrified.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Shhh!" She whispers putting a finger to her lips. The deep sound resonates through the air resembling a severely unbalance washing machine on the spin cycle. It is, of course, a helicopter.

"They found us" Simon whispers as he crawls out from behind Izzy. "Jordon says it's because of the trackers in our wrist bands, he's gone to distract them. It's only an air patrol, but if they find us we're as good as dead."

"Then what do we do?"

"Deactivate them, give me your wrist"

I present my wrist band to him, not remorseful of the inconclusive results in the slightest. He brandishes a screwdriver and removes the outer compartment, twiddling around with some wires.

"Done" He whispers, giving it back to me.

"You're not going to take it off?"

"I can't, it'd kill you. I've only shut off the tracking mechanism"

"Since when could you do all this?" I ask him.

"He's a complete computer geek!" Izzy interjects. Simon looks sheepish but then adds.

"My uncle used to fix old wrist bands, but now I'm willing to bet he actually tampered with them. Maia says he was part of the rebellion"

"Who isn't?" I wonder aloud.

"Exactly" Jordon says from above, it is then that I notice the helicopter noise is distant. "You can't trust anyone, they could be a rebel…or they could turn you in. I've made that mistake too often, there's a surprisingly thin line between the two"

He offers me a hand and I gratefully take it, dusting off my tattered jeans. We all separate to search through the rummage and try to find anything useful. I wander alone, collecting my haul. Two hours later we gather together all our finds and share them out. Simon finds a guitar, which he pointlessly carries; claiming a guitar in this good condition shouldn't be wasted. Jordon and Maia share the load of food and other essentials in some backpacks that I found. They give me and Izzy a range of Shadowhunter weapons that were scattered around. I'm also wearing some random items of Shadowhunter gear, creating an odd mixture of jeans and tough leather jacket, but if it's gonna keep me alive…We resume our looooong trek across America.

It's quiet and nothing has happened for hours when Maia stops the group.

"Can you hear that?"

"What?"

We're silent for a moment and then we all hear the rumbling.

"Trucks, they're coming along the road. Quick!" She says running off the road and into a forest nearby. We run through the thicket, trying to keep hidden. I run blindly, terrified that they'll see me. Being the klutz that I am, I manage to trip over a thick tree root. I hit the ground hard and when I stand back up I'm in the middle of dense forest with no-one else in sight.

"Guys?" I call, fairly loud. "IZZY?" I ask louder. The sound of a twig snapping can be heard behind me, my breathing grows rapid, I turn but there's nothing there.

"Guys, this isn't funny" Another twig snaps. I turn towards the noise and nearly die of a heart attack. A huge Hydra demon stalks towards me, four heads slithering separately, sniffing the air for my presence. I go deathly still. Oh how I wish I listened in all those dreary demonology lessons! Hydra….Hydra…._Cannot see normally and relies on sound, scent, and it's sheer number of loud mouths to catch it's prey…_So it can't see me? I run side to side and all over the place, hoping to distract it whilst I think of a better plan. The demon is successfully disorientated, I stop and hurriedly draw the soundless rune on my arm. I walk around it, grab a dagger from my belt and swipe at the nearest head, managing to slice it off. The Hydra shrieks, I'm about to do something heroic like run away when it blocks my exit. I curse and grab a Seraph blade. It doesn't work! Wait…don't we have to name them!?

"JESUS" It doesn't light up…_angel name's_… "GARY" Still nothing, come on that has to be a name! "MONTOGUE" Nope…The Hydra stalks closer, I now feel more and more like I'm talking to a piece of metal. "RAZZAZZA!" I trip over as I walk backwards now in a very vulnerable position.

"GABRIEL!" A shout can be heard as a figure jumps on top of the demon, they hack and slash manically until the vile creature folds in on itself. It disappears to reveal a very out of breath Isabelle.

"Razzaza? Seriously?" She mocks me.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know all those fancy names?" I protest, but fling my arms at her anyway, she hugs me back.

"I could've died! I'm so sorry I made you upset!" I cry, thankful.

"It's okay, I was being mean anyway."  
"Who knew you were so badass?" I exclaim, puling away from the hug.

"Baby, I was born this way"

I roll my eyes. Apparently the others weren't too far away and it doesn't take long to catch-up and re group. The journey is much the same as before until we reach a set of train tracks. Jordon stops the group.

"We're going to have to catch a train"

"What, a _moving_ train!?" Simon exclaims

"No, a train that stops conveniently half way towards it's next station, just so we can hop on" Jordon replies sarcastically.

"But, how _do_ we get on?" I ask.

"Well, the trains that come through here are rarely passenger trains because the clave doesn't let most people out of their hometowns. Theses trains are usually freight trains, carrying important resources and stuff. They are generally slower and I'm sure Clary could think of some extra speed rune or something" He says, looking at me.

"Erm…I…err…sure…" I reply uncertain.

"But what about me? I'm still mundane!" Simon complains.

"Oh stop complaining!" Maia calls, just as Jordon puts up his hand.  
"The train, its coming"

"Okay, Clary now would be a great time for a magical rune" Izzy announces, looking at me expectantly. I pull out my stele and quickly sketch out the enhanced speed rune on both of us. Not long after we can see the train on the horizon Simon starts panicking.

"But I can't jump! On a train! A _moving _train! You're all crazy! We're all going to die!"

"Oh shut up, think of it as one of your games. Be the hero Simon" Izzy says.

Simon is about to reply when Jordon makes the call.

"Okay. Aim for the last cart, run alongside the train first"

"1…" Maia shouts as the train hurtles towards us.

"2…" It's maybe a hundred metres away now.

"3…" Fifty metres.

"4…" The head of the train goes past.

"5!"

They both start running fast, I grab Simon's hand and sprint alongside the train. Izzy makes a war cry and lurches into a carriage. Two carriages hurtle past us. I yell at Simon and jump sideways, pulling him with me. I smack against hard metal floor, my head spinning. Simon lands on me with a thump and I groan as my recently bruised body is thwacked back against the hard floor. I feel like my body is hurtling at thousands of miles per hour. Simon is suddenly yanked off me and I struggle up, only to be greeted with a sizzy make out session. I check my wristband, just _one_ more time. Still 0, and I apparently don't have a home either. Le sigh.

"You alright?" Maia asks, giving me a hand. I nod, she pulls me up and I stumble, not compensating for the moving train. She laughs and sits me down on a crate nearby.

A few hours later Simon's playing his guitar. He claims to have been in a band before, they were called Turkey Twizzlers or something. Izzy fell asleep on his shoulders hours ago and I'm humming along to it with my legs dangling off they ledge of the train, watching the country fly by. Jordon is talking to Maia in the corner, but it doesn't look much like a romantic thing, more of a battle strategy business conversation. I'm sure my name is mentioned a lot, but I'm just going to shrug it off for now.

A shadow moves fast in my peripheral vision, I sit up straighter, suddenly more alert. I scan the area, the shape moves again, this time much closer to me. I scramble away from the edge and draw a seraph blade.

"What is it?" Jordon asks, Simon stops the guitar playing.

"I thought I saw-" I don't finish as a figure leaps on to the train, I screech and attack it with my blade. I barely see any movement but one second it's in front of me and the next I've been disarmed and slammed against the train wall. The figure is a male with curly, golden blond hair and eyes that look gold, which are coincidentally looking straight at me.

"Ahh, nice of you to pop in" Jordon says from behind. Goldie's attention is snapped away from me as his eyes rest on Jordon. He smirks.

"Well, no-one can resist a bit of this." He says, pointing to his leather clad body with one hand, as the other is still absentmindedly on my shoulder pinning me to the wall. He clicks his fingers at Simon.

"Nice music, nice of you to stop for us"

_Us? _It's then that I notice another black haired, leather clad dude.

"Who _are_ you?" I ask blondey.

He turns towards me and smirks.

"My name is Jace. Jace Lightwood, at your service"

**Review! **


	5. Morgenstern

**Oh yeah, minor muck up from perviosuly. CLARY IS NOT 23, I've just got awful maths. She's seventeen. **

* * *

"_My name is Jace. Jace Lightwood at your service" _

"Well now that we're all best friends, can you please let me go?" I ask him, pushing him away. He doesn't move his arm though; he just keeps smirking down at me.

"We can't be best friends if I don't know your name"

I glare at him.

"It's Clary, now will you please move your arm?"

"Mmm…no?"

"Oh for goodness sake Jace, let it go" The other dude pipes up, pushing him away. Jace rolls his eyes but moves away. I stalk past him, but he grabs my arm as I pass. I turn around in frustration.

"You might want to brush up on your battle reflexes, I bet even a mundie could take you down"

"You just caught me by surprise" I mumble, ripping my arm out of his grip, not willing to admit that I've never had any training at all. I hear black haired dude say something to Jace, whose attention quickly becomes diverted, leaving me to go attempt some sleep by a stack of crates. The new dudes make me feel a little unsettled but I trust Jordon's judgment, and anyway it's not like I have a choice. I drift away, seeking comfort in the now familiar movement of the train…

* * *

"Oi, buttface, wake-up" I hear the familiar wake up call of my best friend Izzy.

"Five more minutes"

A sharp sting on my cheek makes my eyes suddenly find the ability to flutter open. I push her away from me.  
"What was that for!?"

"Come on Clary we've known each other since we were born, so of course I know that five minutes means two hours"  
"You're the worst friend I ever had"

"Only friend"

I just laugh off the insult and stretch out my aching limbs. The scenery has changed slightly since yesterday, the scenery displaying some pretty breathtaking mountains.

"Where are we?" I wonder out loud.

"Somewhere near Illinois is my guess" A voice answers from right behind me, I squeal and jump just as the train turns a corner and I'm flung to the ground. I look up to find Jace laughing at me, he offers me a hand but I don't take it.

"Breakfast?" He asks, handing me a packet of waffles. I eye it warily but my stomach decides for me and I take them. I nibble on them as I try to avoid both Jace's eye contact and Izzy fussing whom is busy fussing over Simon.

"Hey Jace, have you checked out the-?" The other dude starts before his gaze falls on Izzy. Last night I didn't fully appreciate his appearance, but now, looking at him in the daylight I can see juts how much he resembles Izzy. They both have the same dark black hair and blue eyes, it's like witnessing a real life gender bend!

"Who are you?" He asks curiously.

"I'm not telling you until you tell me who _you_ are" She replies.  
"Alec Lightwood"

"Oh, I'm Isabelle"

"Isabelle? How old are you?"

"Erm…eighteen?"

"Are you sure?"

"How can you not know your own age?" Jordon asks, coming into the cart.

"Not helpful Jordon" Jace responds.

"Are you trying to say you know who I am? You know my family?" She asks hopefully.

"I think so, I mean I had a younger sister who should be seventeen. She was called Isabelle"

"Oh, so you're my brother?"

"Not necessarily, we can't jump to conclusions…but most likely"

"Oh my gosh!" She squeals and attacks him in a hug, he looks awkward and doesn't hug her back.

"Alec is mucho and doesn't appreciate hugs" Jace explains.

"Right" She says, letting him go. He looks a little shocked at her sudden outburst.

"If she is family we should definitely go to Institute 3, not 4" Alec suggests to Jordon.

"We can do that I suppose, I was planning on dropping these two off" He points at us, "and then we're going to the praetor lupus camp"

"Two? What about me? Why am I always left out?" Simon complains

"Because you're a mundane" Jace simply replies, smirking at him.

"Oh great, so I make it this far only to be rejected again because I'm actually human"

"Exactly"

"Actually no" Maia interrupts "Simon is just as important as all of us, Valentine will still torture him for information. He deserves our protection."

"Fine, then Lucian can handle it"

"Who's Lucian?" Izzy asks, concerned.

"Lucian Graymark, werewolf pack leader"

"Wait, did you say Luke Garroway?" I ask, sure that I misheard.

"Garroway…" Jordon muses. "He hasn't gone by that name for a very long time, only a few people know him by that"

"Who did you say you were again?" Alec asks, giving me a quizzical look.

"Clary"  
"No, full name"

"Clarissa Fray, I don't see how this is important"

"Fray…Garroway" Alec starts.

"FAIRCHILD" Jace exclaims, as if it is some great revelation. "Show me your wrist band"

"No"

He rolls his eyes and grabs it anyway, pulling up my sleeve to get a better view.  
"Jocelyn…and inconclusive results"

He looks up at my face again, scrutinizing it.

"I thought so before…well this certainly makes things more interesting"

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" I yell.

"Welcome to the world of fugitives Clarissa Fairchild"

"Fairchild?" Jordon says, suddenly perking up.

"But if she's a Fairchild…and Jocelyn Fairchild is her mother…then she's also…" Alec starts.

"A Morgenstern" Jace finishes.

"Morgenstern? Wait, no. You must be wrong, I…I _can't _be related to them!" I cry, tears threatening to spill out as I attempt to crush the inevitable truth. "No, I can't be… my dad, look!" I say brandishing Jonathon Clarke's name. "Look, it says Jonathon Clarke, not Valentine Morgenstern!"

Jace gives me a pitying look.

"As much as I would like to say otherwise, I think no-one can hide from the fact that you're his daughter"

"But it doesn't make any sense!" I argue.

"Actually…it does" Izzy says, biting her lip.  
"How!?"

"Well…we've never actually met your dad. Your mum has always been over protective and maybe that's because she wanted to hide away. We now know that she was part of the rebel alliance and what more reason would she have other than to go against your dad? And, come on Clary, we both know her hatred for Valentine and his son is too strong to _not_ be personal!"

"But there's no actual proof!"

"There is, you just don't want to admit it. Your wrist band, the inconclusive results, that's all Valentine's doing. It's the extra angle blood, it has to be" Jace says.

I turn on my heel and storm out of the carriage, jumping from this one to the next. I'm grateful that no-one tries to stop me. I need some alone time. I contemplate the revelation as I watch the scenery fly past, wondering what this means now. A figure plops themselves down next to me.

"Hey."

I turn to see Jace. I contemplate leaving, but decide that I really can't be bothered.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see my favourite red head"

"I'm probably the _only_ red head you know"

"That's not strictly true, I know your mother"

"Great"

"Okay, what I really wanted to say was…"

"Was what?"

"That…that family don't need to be your blood. I mean, my father is…well no actually my father is Robert Lightwood. I chose him, family aren't your blood, they are the people you choose to be with"

I look curiously up at him; I assumed he thought he was above everyone else. He certainly looked like it.

"Who was your real father?"

"Stephen Herondale"

"Oh well-"

A scream pierces through the air. Jace bolts upright, suddenly on the alert. The scream sounds again and Jace sticks his head dangerously out of the carriage door. He turns back to me with wide eyes.  
"What is it?"

"Shadowhunters on the train and lots of them"  
"Then who screamed!?" I yell over several of shouts from the carriage behind me.

"I thought everybody was in that carriage" He says pointing to the one I stormed out of. I smack my forehead.

"MAIA!" I yell, tearing through the carriage. I reach the door leading to the other carriage, when Jace pulls me back.

"No Clary. They're here for us, you even! Do you want to meet your father face to face!?"

"Obviously not! But we can't leave Maia!"

"We have to"

He drags me over to the door.  
"You're going to kill me!" I yell over the wail of the wind.

"No we're going to jump!" He states, but he appears to be waiting.

"YOU'RE CRAZY!"

"There she is!" A male voice shouts from too close by. I take notice of the use of she, goodness gracious they are actually after _me. _When the teachers at school told me to think about where I'd be in a five years, I didn't think I'd be leaning out a moving train with a complete and utter stranger, running away from the Clave. Jace launches out the door, pushing me with him. I scream as we hurtle through the air. The ground flies towards my face as my too-short life flashes before my eyes. I land with a smack and start…sinking?

The dark envelops me and I feel as though I've been wrapped up in an icy blanket. I realise I'm under water when I can't breathe. I panic and frantically swim in any direction, not knowing whether I'm going up or down. My heart hammers in my chest as I run out of breath and my lungs feel like they are being crushed by a herd of elephants. My eyes droop closed as I begin to embrace the darkness of the water's depths. I vaguely feel strong arms envelope my torso as I let the water loll me into a deep sailors sleep.


	6. JUMP!

My stomach lurches and I can't breathe. I start to panic as the water spews out of my mouth; I cough and cough until all the water clears. My eyes are blurry and I have a killer headache so I lie back down again. I close my eyes to try and dull the pain, it clears after a while.

"Sorry, I would give you an iratze but I lost my stele" A familiar British voice asks, wait I'm in Britain?

"Are you British?" I ask, my eyes still closed as I can't find the will to open them.

"Honestly, I give you the kiss of life and that's the first thing you say?"

My eyes shoot open and I finally take in my surroundings. I'm lying on jagged rock and I suddenly realise how cold and wet I am. It feels horrible, like I have a second damp skin. The rock expands out, to form walls and a roof. It's fairly dark but the opening provides enough light to see who my 'saviour' is.

"You kissed me?" I ask Jace incredulously.

"No, I resuscitated you, but don't worry, it wasn't that special for me either"

"Well, thanks I guess"

"Your welcome and I'm not British, I was raised in Idris. I'm surprised you didn't notice before"

"Yeah well…" I honestly hadn't noticed, I must've watched too much Sherlock…That's one good thing about Valentine, he still lets the BBC broadcast. I have no idea why…

"And you're not at all concerned with where you are?" Jace asks me.

"Well I assumed we were in a cave, what happened?"

"The clave raided the train and we jumped into the lake, when you subsequently drowned."

"Yeah, how did you know there was going to be a lake?"

"I didn't"

I stand up.

"So, we could have jumped to our deaths?"

"No, there was a 90% chance that we landed in the oncoming lake"

I slap him round the face before I could fully take control of my actions.  
"What was that for!?" He yells, cradling his face.  
"The other 10"

"Geez woman…" I hear him mutter under his breath. I suddenly realise that the others are missing.

"What about Simon? Isabelle?"

He shakes his head.

"I lost them when we jumped, I was too busy saving your life and fighting off the Shadowhunters"

I then notice the hastily made bloody bandage over his thin Shadowhunter shirt. "I know I'm gorgeous but you don't have to stare" He chides.

I blush and look him in the eyes.

"Is this the part where I rip off pieces of your shirt to bind your wounds?" I ask, pointing to it.

"If you wanted me to take off my clothes, you should've just asked" He says, shrugging off his shirt, my heart hammers in confusion.

"I have another spare in the bag" He clarifies, indicating to his discarded rucksack. I breathe a sigh of relief and rummage through blankets and other essentials until I find a first aid kit.

"You still carry these? I thought you'd use an iratze or something"

"Sometimes we lose them and also Downworlders and mundane can't take runes" He points out.

"Oh right"

I carefully peel off the dirty bandage and wipe it with antiseptic, Jace studies me carefully as I do. I use the skills drilled into me from the first aid sessions that mum forced me to go to. When I pull the knot tighter Jace winces.

"Too tight?"

"No, it's fine. Actually you're surprisingly good"

"Yeah well my mum forced me to go to Madame Dorethea first aid sessions, although most of it consisted of forcing down her baking. Then again, maybe that's why she ran those sessions, just in case we got food poisoning or choked or something…"

Jace gives me a strange look.

"Sorry I'm ranting"

"No, it's just. I thought you were a Shadowhunter?"

"Oh, erm…I only just found out"

"So, you've had no training whatsoever?"

"Err well no?"

"It's a dangerous world, Clary you're going to need some training!"

"Yeah well, my mum's possibly dead and I've lost all my friends so of course I can spare a few moments to practise throwing knifes at things"

"Whatever, I'm going to fetch some firewood"

I watch him leave and awkwardly sit on a rock, after a while it gets really uncomfortable but I can't be bothered to move. Huh, logic. Jace comes back and I awkwardly watch him build a fire on a slab of smoother rock. He beckons me over.

"Here" he hands me two rocks "Try and start the fire"

I try and rub the rocks together but only minuscule sparks are created.

"Look" He takes my hands in his and strikes the rocks together fast. I squeal and drop the rock as a massive spark is emitted. He laughs, picks it up and lights the fire in one go.

"How did you do that?" I complain.

"Practise and lots of it"

"What are you like Bear Grylls?"

"A bear?"

"No, he's a wilderness dude"

"Never heard of him"

"Of course not"

We sit around the fire awkwardly, the wind blows harshly and I shiver, despite the warm tendrils of the fire. He notices.

"Take your clothes off"

"I'm sorry?" I ask, incredulous.

"The lesser wet clothes you're wearing, the warmer you'll be and it'll decrease your chance of catching hypothermia."  
I shrug off my jacket until I'm just in a tank top. I would never go any further though, I mean how awkward is that? Surprisingly the Shadowhunter leggings that I found actually dried really quickly. I try to look away from Jace's naked chest, but his runes are so intriguing and I just want to run my hands over them. Jace catches my eye from across the fire and winks at me. I blush and look away. He reaches into his bag and starts roasting random pieces of meat on the fire. We actually manage to have quite a fulfilling meal of beef and random canned vegetables. By the time we finish, the sky has already darkened and the air is noticeably colder. I rummage into Jace's bag and pull out a singular blanket.

"You only have one blanket…." I trail off.

"No worries, we can share." He says, grabbing the blanket and lying down.

"Come on" He pats the space next to him.

"I'd rather not"

"Seriously it's cold"

Just sharing a blanket doesn't have to mean we're in a relationship, right? Not that he isn't like a Greek god and makes me blush and…I sigh and lie down next to him. It's actually really warm and toasty when he wraps the blanket around me.

"New record, I've known you a day and you're already in my bed…"

"Shut up" I mumble, unconvincingly. I feel his chest rise in a chuckle behind me. It doesn't take long for my tired eyes to droop to a close.


	7. Midnight Mountains

**Hey, thanks for all the reviews and follows! They really do make my days!**

I roll over in my sleep, body feeling oddly bruised. I tug my duvet over myself, basking in its warmth. It feels like it's shrunken a bit though, maybe the rest of it's on the floor? I grope around, searching for it. I panic when I feel a hard, rough surface instead of the bed I was expecting. My eyes fly open in confusion and I glance down at the muscular arm I'm clutching like a blanket. I hastily push it away, my cheeks burning as I recollect the past days events. A deep voice, which I assume belongs to Jace groans and tugs me closer to his chest. I attempt to escape, but he keeps a firm hold on me. _How did I even get into this situation? _

"Jace…" I say, turning in his arms to shake him awake, my face pressed into his chest rather uncomfortably. His face is disconcertingly close as I watch his eyes start to open until they focus on my rather annoyed expression.

"Good morning Red" He greets me with a smirk.

"Hi, can you please move your arm?" I say, deliberately tugging on it.

"You're quite comfy actually"

"Jace! Please!"

"Only because you said please" He chides, letting me go. I roll my eyes in exasperation and stand up, locating my now dry jacket. I head out to the entrance of the cave.

"Hey! Where are you going!?" I hear Jace shout but I ignore him.

The cave widens out onto a beautiful lake, shimmering in the blaring sunshine. A line of trees rims the edges of the lake, forests that lead all the way up into the mountains. Everything gleams with morning dew which sparkles in the sunlight underneath a clear blue sky.

"Pretty isn't it?" Jace speaks up, his breath tickling my neck startling me so that I take a step forward. _A step forward off the edge_. I shriek as I'm suspended in thin air above nothing, a moment of impending doom passes before Jace catches me and pulls me back in, laughing the whole time.

"You're not going anywhere until I decide you have the appropriate training" Jace informs me, leaning back against the cave wall.

"Oh really, I just have to do what you say?"

"Well, basically, yes"

"Well, obviously, no"

"Well, obviously you wouldn't last five minutes out there by yourself" He argues, raising an eyebrow.

"Well-"I start but don't finish as Jace grabs me, twirls me around and gently pushes me into the cave wall where he was just standing. My eyes widen in shock.

"News flash: Clary doesn't have any training!" He says, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Um, this just in: My friends, and not to mention my mum, may be dead and I need to go find them" I retaliate, pushing him back.

"Here's the weather: Torrential storms of demons and evilness" He sasses back, moving forward and placing his arms either side of my head, caging me in.

"Hot off the press: I'm a Shadowhunter" I say, right up in his face.

"Breaking news: YOU DON'T HAVE ANY TRAINING!" He moves forward just a little bit more so that our noses touch. I blush and pull back quickly, accidentally thwacking my head back against the stone. He smirks, which I now assume is his signature expression.

"I just need to make sure you can defend yourself, and then we find your friends and your mum. I know Alec isn't dead because he's my parabatai and I can assume the other's are also okay"

"But that's only an assumption" I point out.

"Clary, it's the best we can hope for. Now, the sooner you can handle a seraph blade, the sooner we can go looking for them" He states, turning around and heading back into the cave. Having no intentions of being left alone, I follow him.

He takes a seraph blade off his weapons pile and hands it to me. I grasp it in my hand like I had when I fought off the Hydra demon.

"No, no, no. You don't want to hold it like that" Jace comes over and moves my hands into a better position.

"That's better, now you want to swing it in a big arch" He demonstrates by guiding me hands with his. I'm suddenly hyper aware of exactly where Jace is and suddenly also aware of how clammy my hands are getting. I can't really remember how long he spends patiently teaching me to fight, he also teaches me how to throw knives. Knife throwing appears to be a practise purely for showing off, but if Jace says it's useful it probably is. We finish up around lunchtime and after a quick snack from Jace's rucksack he deems us ready to set out. He quickly scans the cave opening and points to a previously unnoticed, but also incredibly narrow cliff pathway up to the top.

"We can't seriously climb that?" I ask him, incredulously.

"Seriously, we are" He simply replies and jumps up onto the ledge, expertly balancing. This time I take his outstretched hand. The climb is both physically challenging and completely terrifying. Every time I look down I am overcome with vertigo, I nearly fall off numerous times however Jace seems perfectly at ease. Maybe his mother gave birth on a cliff, or he's half mountain goat. Or maybe he was conceived on a cliff ledge…eww what? Sometimes even I don't know what I'm thinking. Jace comes to a stop and I suddenly realise we are at the top, he heaves himself up onto the cliff top. I make the mistake of looking down under the pretence of checking where we are. Bad idea. My heart thunders with fear, making my hands go all clammy with sweat and my fingers slip.

"JACE!" I scream as I grasp onto the ledge with only the tips of my fingers. A rock gives way under one foot and I flail around, desperately crying to cling to the wall. Jace's concerned face appears above me and he stretches his arm out, his wrist band gleams in front of me. I grab at the 0.00 numbers wildly, my hands finally making a connection with his, his eyes go wide as he pulls with all his strength upwards. I use my feet to kick myself up the cliff, and as soon as my other hand is clear I use it to push myself up in one short burst of energy. Jace also gives one big tug and I go tumbling forward, crashing into his chest. He goes flying back and hits the ground, I go down with him. He looks up at me with relief, and I return the look with a small smile. His golden eyes bore into mine as our chests rise and fall in synchronisation. I realise I've been staring at him too long and I roll off of him onto the soft mossy grass. I lie there, catching my breath. The sky is a brilliant shade of blue and the clouds look like little fluffy marshmallows. For once in my life I fully appreciate just being alive. They all lye; my life didn't flash before my eyes, despite my life threatening situation. Sad times. I sit up and take in my surroundings. We're atop a high cliff, in a brilliant clearing, overlooking a stunning mountain range.

"Beautiful isn't it-?"

I turn to ask Jace, but he's already gone. I see his back disappearing into the woods behind the clearing and I sigh, just me, alone, again…

Jace comes back some time later with a pile of wood in his hands, he dumps it in front of me.

"Another fire?" I question.

"That and a shelter" He says, producing a large leaf to act as a canopy. It is surprisingly hard to build a wigwam (**Wooden Shelter)**, although Jace appears to know exactly how to place all the logs against each other to stand up.

"How do you know so much about all this survival stuff?" I ask, generally curious.

"Me, Alec and the other boys used to have camps for fun in the forests around the Institute. The older members of our families encouraged it; after all we'd need the skills later on in life"

"Older members? Was it like some kind of community?"

"It _is._ It is a community, rebel Shadowhunters set up secret bases, Institutes if you like. They are a place of safety, a haven for groups and families opposed to Valentine's tight and cruel reign. You see, it's different for mundanes who are easy to control but Nephilim? It's a whole new story, a story I know too well"

"_I_ wouldn't know, mum always kept me hidden from the outside world"

"She was right to do so; the real world is a scary place"

I nod. We continue in silence until I have to stop.

"I'm gonna go..."  
"Go? Where? Why?" He immediately questions.

"Oh…um…yunno_ go_"

"_Go?_"

"I need to toilet Jace! So I'm just going to go in the woods… I'll be right back!" I rush, eager to escape the increasingly awkward situation. I can almost feel him laughing behind my back.

When I arrive back, Jace has already lit the fire and finished the shelter. I can currently see his silhouette, lit by the setting sun. It makes him look like an avenging angel, and as I draw closer his expression made him look like he'd seen the whole world burn before his eyes and he couldn't stop it. Maybe it did. I have an intense urge to paint the scene, but alas I have no art supplies. I silently come and join him, taking in the breathtaking beauty with him.

"Had fun?" He asks, jokingly. I roll my eyes, a gesture now familiarly associated with Jace's whims. Jace brandishes an apple from behind his back and looks at me expectantly.

"I didn't have time to get a cake, so this was the best I could do"

"Cake?" I ask, and then it hits me. "Oh right! It's my birthday! How did you know?"

"Clarissa Fairchild please do not tell me you have had your birthday displayed on your wrist for eighteen years and you cannot remember it"

"Yunno I was kinda busy with the whole not-dying thing"

He chuckles.

"But thanks anyway" I mumble, taking the apple from him and taking a bite out of it. I hand it to him and he also shares a chunk.

"I've been here before" Jace realises, filling the comfortable silence. "I was tracking a demon with Alec. Actually, I've never been anywhere more beautiful at midnight before"  
"Midnight?"

His eyes gleam with excitement, anticipation….and something else I can't quite put my finger on.

"Just you wait, it's the most beautiful thing you'll ever see. Well, aside from me"

"Egotistical much?"

"I see no wrong in telling the truth" He hands me back the apple, we sit down and I rest my head against his shoulder. I nearly fall sleep but Jace nudges me.

"What?" I ask, he responds by pointing at the landscape. A small gasp escapes my lips as the nature surrounding us starts to unfold and glow, it's possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Jace takes my hand and pulls me up.

"It's a natural phenomenon, the plants come from Idris, they must have been planted or maybe they just happened to grow…" He turns to me. "Either way, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen"

"Me too"

He leans down and I don't stop him as his lips connect with mine. It's like a magnet is pressing us together, like we were meant to happen. I guess all those romance novels I've read are true, it really does feel like fireworks. Jace pulls back first and rests his forehead against mine.

"I realised earlier, when you were falling off that cliff that I couldn't bear to lose you. Even if we're only met a day, I've never known a mundane with as much courage as you"

"Maybe it's because I'm a Shadowhunter"

"Or maybe because you are simply just extraordinary"

This time I lead forward and in that beautiful moment, I finally feel complete, no more soul mate problems, no more numbers, no more control. Sometimes you find someone to love and hold in even the darkest of situations. And for once I am glad that my life turned upside down, because Jace's life turned down with it.


	8. Burn, burn, burn!

_I would like to say that I woke up to the brilliant sunshine, wrapped up in Jace's arms without a care in the world. Sadly I didn't, although I did wake up in Jace's arms…_

"Clary! Clary! Can you hear me? Come on, wake up!" I can barely hear Jace's urgent voice through the ringing in my ears. I open my eyes and wish I hadn't. Fire surrounds us, the trees setting ablaze releasing vast plumes of thick black smoke that makes my eyes water and my throat burn. Jace is carrying me bridal style whilst running at speeds I had previously considered impossible.

"Jace…" I croak, trying to alert him to my presence. He looks down, relief evident on his sweaty, smoke smudged face. A tree collapses behind us and Jace narrowly avoids getting us killed.

"I'm going to have to set you down!" He yells over the crash of another tree collapsing. He stops briefly and sets me on my feet. He gives me a determined look and grabs my hand. I follow blindly, stumbling and jumping here and there to avoid the thick tree trunks. The forest seems like it is closing in around us, I gasp as a fireball shoots passed me.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" I half scream through my hoarse throat.

"It's the circle! They're flushing us out!" He responds, dragging me faster through the thicket. The fire appears to be enclosing us, just as we push through more trees and fire wall appears before us and Jace is forced to take a sharp left. I cough slightly as we run, the smoke does not taste good. My hair is plastered to face with sweat from the intense heat of the burning forest. I'm starting to tire when Jace suddenly stops, I scream as I hurtle into him, completely caught off guard. He catches me as I stumble very ungracefully into a clearing. A clearing that just so happens to be surrounded by a bunch of men, a bunch of men brandishing extremely sharp looking seraph blades. Jace steps forward and pushes me behind him, shielding me with his body.

"You ready to go back to daddy?" The man at the front of the group sneers patronisingly at Jace, whilst expertly twirling his sword.

"I would rather die" Jace responds in a tone filled with so much venom, even I flinch. The man, however, appears unaffected by it.  
"Your father was rather….upset when he learnt of your betrayal, I'm sure he wouldn't mind fulfilling that wish for you…or a least give you a taste of hell"

"Because he hasn't doesn't that already" Jace responds, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The man steps forward aggressively, swinging his sword in a wide arc towards Jace who unsheathes his own blade and pushes me further back. The man's cruel eyes flicker towards me at Jace's sudden movement.

"Ah, the little runaway Morgenstern. _You're _father will certainly be pleased to see you" My hands reach for the place where Jace hid my own blade and I slowly take it out.

"That man is not my father" I say with as much malice as I can muster, raising the blade. The man chuckles.

"Well you are clearly Jocelyn's daughter and unless she hooked up with that filthy Downworlder, you are also Valentine's"

I narrow my eyes and step forward, Jace moves to stop me. The man sneers.

"This is all very touching and I'd love to stay and chat, but Valentine has orders"

He gestures for the men to advance on us. Chaos ensues as Jace gets swept away in the fight. I stab and try my best efforts to win over the men I'm fighting, but I'm still only a beginner. My opponent slashes my wrist and I drop the blade with a cry. He takes the opportunity and seizes me, forcing my arms behind me back. I struggle and kick but the hands are like vices. I glance over at Jace who appears to be having no trouble cutting down the men, slashing them in their arms or legs to disable them. Almost half the men have been despatched by the time he glances up at me. His eyes flash with fury and he advances towards me, his path is obstructed by the man we talked to, who engages him in an intense fight. Even I can see that Jace is losing. I look down in desperation and spot a stray stele. A pattern of swirling, intricately placed lines appears in my head. I swing my foot back and whack my captor in the shins, his grip loosens and I free myself from his grip. He swears as my hand closes around the stele. Without even thinking, I swiftly draw the rune in the air, each line converges and twists around like a snake. Time appears to freeze as everyone turns towards it in shock, even Jace stops fighting. The rune suddenly bursts into light and the men closest stumble back in fear. I recognise the portal instantly, Jace immediately springs into action and sprints towards the open portal, grabbing me and dragging me with him. The men behind us cry out, but by the time any of them take action it's too late and we've disappeared into the depths of nothingness.


	9. Mooka Pooka

I cling to Jace with all my strength as we are buffeted from every angle, it feels like being the ball in a pin ball machine, except are no walls or limits to direction. It makes me feel like putty. I squeeze my eyes shut as the portal suddenly lurches forward and I am flying through the air, violently landing on something hard. I open my eyes to find I'm on Jace's heaving chest. He looks at me with the same astonished look.

"You…have….to-be…trained to use a portal" He says through laboured breathing.

"Well I don't know where we are" I exclaim, looking around my surroundings. Well, I get as far as lifting my hand before getting greeted by a handful of sand in my face. I cry out.

"Clary! What happened!?" Jace asks me concerned.

"Sand! In my eye!" I wail.  
"Sand? Okay Clary open your eyes"

"I can't! They hurt!"

"Okay, calm down I got this"

I feel Jace shift out from underneath me and his hands came to my eyes to help clear them out. When I can finally see clearly again, I'm looking straight into Jace's golden eyes.

"There we go, I can finally see those beautiful eyes of yours" He compliments with a look that makes my insides melt. He leans in and his lips connect with mine, both moving in perfect synchronization. I feel slightly empty when he leans away, although my hands are still entangled in his hair.

"As much as I'd love for this to continue, I believe that we are in the middle of nowhere" He says, gesturing to the vast expanse of sand dunes surrounding us.

"Well we're not in the middle of nowhere, it's a desert"

"A desert in the middle of nowhere"

"Fine, I'll draw another portal" I say, brandishing the stele. Jace catches my wrist first.

"You do know that no-one. Not _ever_, has anyone _ever _drawn a portal with a rune"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously"

"_Awesome_" I say as I draw the swirly patterns.

"Okay Clary, this time I'll think of somewhere to be and you just think about being with me. That way there's a fifty-fifty chance we'll end up where we're meant to be." Jace explains, grabbing my hand. I nod and step into the open portal. The stomach twisting sensation envelops me again as I'm tossed around again. I am violently lurched once more in a different direction. This time when I'm flung to the ground I don't land on Jace, more rather I land in the middle of a pile of logs. When I poke my head up I am surrounded by a bunch of strangely dressed men. I scream and scramble backwards.

"Oooka Pooka, mauna la?" One finger-painted tribal man asks its fellow as I watch in confusion.

"Unam" The other one replies nodding towards my direction. I stand up and back slowly away, looking for Jace only to find that I am completely alone and surrounded by tribal men.

"Uhhh Hi?" I ask in an attempted to converse with them.

"A god!" One of them yells and they all bend down to worship me.

"Erm…okay, I just have to go…have you seen my friend?"

"Friend?" One asks in confusion turning to another. They talk amongst themselves rapidly, occasionally casting furtive glances in my direction. I hear glimpses of words that sound suspiciously like 'sacrifice', 'the sky' and 'golden'. I clutch the stele still attached to my belt.

"Come" One of them announces and takes my arm to drag me through the trees on an awkward walk surrounded by tribal painted men wearing very little in the way of clothing. We stop once we reach a clearing surrounded by a bunch of tents, in the middle is a roaring fire and a throne is displayed to the left. Sitting on the throne, looking very smug is the very man I wish to throttle right now.

"What is this that you have bought me?" Jace asks giving me a wink.

"Ooka poina"

"Sorry Unda I didn't quite get that?" Jace asks the dude nonchalantly.

"An offering….dumlans….mmm…goddess….for you" He murmured in pig English, but I was surprised they understood English at all.

"Goddess? For me? Mmm…maybe the girls could fix her up first? A bit of finger painting?" Jace said, milking the already unnecessarily complicated situation. I pull out my stele and brandish it in front of Jace.

"Jace, if you don't stop this now. I will take this stele and shove it up your-"

"She's armed! Unda, disarm her!" Jace interrupts me, prompting the man I assume was named Unda to wrestle the stele off of me. I protests profusely, but Jace merely looks on with mild amusement. He is clearly enjoying this. He takes the stele from Unda and twirls it around.

"Jace I'm being serious, we need to go now. So, give me the stele and I'll draw a portal and-"

"Clarissa, you are missing the point. We're being worshipped here, see look Unda makes great wine and you get the honour of being my goddess"

The other tribes people nod and murmur in agreement. Jace beckons to one of the females standing to the side and gives her some kind of orders. Before I know it I'm being taken off to a tent and pampered by a bunch of woman. As much as I protest my efforts always prove futile. They dress me in this strange flowing golden dress, which is fairly modest compared to what the other woman are wearing. The front has two straps (thank goodness), but the back comes down to the small of my back. The woman seem fascinated by my fiery red hair and emerald eyes and so paint all sorts of strange patterns on my face, arms, shoulders and back. The children running around have lots of fun braiding my hair and generally fussing around me. By the time I they were done I was fuming and ready to eat Jace alive. They usher me out of the tent at night fall and gather around the fire for some big ceremony of something. They leave me alone and so I stalk up to Jace. When I approach him, he gives me a look up and down. Jace himself is shirtless and wearing light trousers, his chest decorated with the same finger-painted swirling patterns.

"Nice" He compliments.

"Jace I am going to kill you"

"Aww come on, it's just a bit of fun" He says, taking another swig of the drink in his hand.

"Yes and how long do you intend to stay here?"  
"Oh I dunno, there seems to be a party tonight, maybe tomorrow morning? You can open a portal then?"

A loud raucous interrupts my retort as the tribe all turn to face us, they start heading towards both of us brandishing what look like very sharp objects.

"Jace?" I ask him, as he rises from his chair and starts backing away.

"Yeah?" He asks, returning my uncertain tone.

"Did they ever mention anything about eating people?"

"They may have mentioned it in passing" He admits, grabbing my hand and leading my briskly away. A loud cry sounds from behind us and he breaks into a sprint, dragging me behind him.

"You can open a portal right?" He yells, throwing me the stele. I catch it.

"Oh I dunno! You seemed a bit reluctant earlier!"

He stops behind a wide tree trunk and captures my lips with his unexpectedly. He breaks away in a hurry.

"My mistake, now, portal please. And you really do look nice like that"

I roll my eyes and sketch the portal on the tree.

"Right, now think of the Institute just outside of New York" He yells and cannonballs through the void, just as the tribes people catch up with us. The now familiar swirling, pin ball machine motion envelops us once more and this time Jace appears to drag me through instead of being lurched forward. This time when we exit, I end up on my knees. Jace immediately comes to my side.

"Are you okay? Look I'm sorry for what happened back there"

"You should be, look what they did to me!" I wail, gesturing to my attire.

"Sorry…" He says, running his hands through his hair.

"Never mind-"

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" A voice yells and a bunch of other voices join in. I look up to find a crowd of Shadowhunters surrounding us, asking questions.

"She opened a portal!"

"What?"

"How?"

"Why are they dressed like that?"

"CLARY!" The unmistakable voice of Isabelle rings through the air. Isabelle looks at me in disbelief as she comes to hug me.

"Is Simon okay?" I ask her in the hug.

"He's fine, we made it through after the train and…" I lose most of the conversation as my eyes lock onto Jace's, we share a look of relief and then Jace nods, stands up and embraces the crowd.


End file.
